Advertisements are boring pps
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Advertisements are boring, unless and often
misleading
“Advertisements are boring, unless and often misleading.”
How far do you agree with this opinion?
In our present world of consumerism, advertisements are
very much the norm because manufacturers have to
attract us to their products, which they do not want and we
do not need. Everywhere we go advertisements loom
before us on billboards, leap out at us from magazines
and newspapers, whiz a lingering impression on the mind.
Advertisement jingles hail us every morning over the radio
and through the day, and we watch consumer products
come alive on television, singing and dancing to promote
themselves.
Are they boring? Generally not, but there are exceptions,
of course. Take for instance the Pepsi-Cola advertisement
on television, “starring” Lionel Ritchie and a host of
dancing youths; exuberant excited, bubbling and fizzling
with life and energy. With its foot-tapping beats and
delightful visual effects, one requires a great deal of self-
control to sit still and not dance along. Or consider the
advertisement with that famous line, “When a man you’ve
never met before suddenly gives you flowers, that’s
Impulse.” Yes, the advertisement for the body-spray,
Impulse. The whole idea of a man absorbed in his daily
routine being suddenly roused out of it by a whiff of
Impulse and then going through a series of impulsive
actions to compliment the lady wearing it, is romantic and
endearing to most women. This combined with the light,
tinkling piano accompaniment and soft-focus filming
makes the advertisement an attractive one. Then we have
the newspaper and magazine advertisements, in vibrant
color, interesting graphics and witty slogans. Take a look
at most cosmetic advertisements like Maybelline or Cover
girl, where the page is attractively splashed with the
newest colors the manufacturer has come up with a pretty,
lively girl caught in mid-laughter. Therefore,
advertisements today are generally interesting due to the
visual and sound effects made possible y advanced
technology in the various mediums of print, sound and
film, and a little imagination, especially when rival
companies try their best to attract consumers and so try to
advertise better.
Are they useless? Not necessarily. In many ways
advertisements help to keep the cost of most publications
low so that we can afford them quite easily. This applies in
the case of our daily newspaper “The Straits Times”, the
Sunday “Asia Magazine”, the popular “Readers Digest”
and especially the publication we are all familiar with, our
respective school magazines. The advertisers pay to
advertise and this payment subsidizes publishing cost so
that we pay less than what we might otherwise have to
pay. Advertisements also help to ease our boredom
sometimes. How many times have people been roused
out of a bored stupor once they see an interesting
advertisement on a billboard or bus or when lazily flicking
through a magazine? Also, advertisements either
interesting or otherwise, especially of otherwise, do
promote conversation among friends when they discuss
them, how an advertisement is so silly, or another is
unusual and imaginative and yet another is introducing an
interesting and attractive product which might be worth
buying. This then brings us to the last point. Are
advertisements misleading?
One of their uses is that they inform us as to what is
available on the market, but is this information wholly true?
Their main function is to attract buyers so naturally, only
certain details regarding a product are highlighted while
others are not provided at all. We are made to believe that
a product is long-lasting, worthwhile, multi-purpose and
bound to give us that happiness we cannot find elsewhere.
Perfume advertisements promise to bring the opposite sex
falling at one’s feet, dictionary and encyclopedia
advertisements promise to give us all the wisdom and
knowledge in the world, cosmetic advertisement for
“Ponderosa Steak & Salad Restaurant” promises juicy and
tender steak and delicious salad. I have eaten there and
found the steak to be of very low quality, for a very high
price, but the salad was everything the advertisement led
me to believe.
So in conclusion, I would say that modern commerce trade
and industry cannot survive without advertisement. The
most advanced advertising technology course gives new
ideas and also acts as “Survival of fittest” in this dynamic
decade. However there should be control over misleading
advertisements.
